David Duncan, Safety, Health and Environmental Advisor at Vistry Group. Crown Copyright
For 10 years BuildForce has been championing the armed forces community within the construction industry. Through a bespoke programme, backed by industry leaders, BuildForce matches skilled service leavers and veterans with meaningful careers in construction and the built environment.
A Community Interest Company, BuildForce was established in 2011 as a collaborative industry led programme. The hugely successful pilot programme involved six major construction organisations (Carillion, Crossrail, Ernst & Young, Lendlease, Morgan Sindall and Wilson James) and was funded by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). 10 years on, with the weight of the construction industry behind them, they are the industry’s largest nationwide military programme.
Higher learning 12 February 2021
Training and certification for crane operators have until recently been national or state concerns. Now they are going continent-wide and crossing borders. Julian Champkin reports.
Europe and the United States have both struggled to impose unified training and certification schemes for crane operators. Both have recently made steps towards a simplified system that will apply across state and national boundaries. Those systems are now in place. Even so, in both continents progress has been painfully slow and the legalities can still be a minefield.
Ton Klijn is the director of ESTA, the body trying to bring some degree of coherence to the licencing of crane operators in the EU. “Every country has its own rules and regulations,” he says. “It made for a situation that can be daft. A mobile crane operator could legally drive his crane from Aberdeen to Sicily but could only operate it in his own country.
Michael Stonehouse being handed his uniform by mentor and Project Engineer James Hall ONE of the firms helping to transform Teesworks has hired a new apprentice to help prepare the site for investment and give him good-quality, on-the-job training during National Apprenticeship Week. Redcar-based Michael Stonehouse, 18, has joined Hall Construction as an apprentice engineer after initially getting in touch for some work experience with the firm, and has now taken his place alongside the team currently carrying out land redevelopment work at the South Bank area. He has been supported by the Teesworks Skills Academy, established by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen to link local people with job opportunities on the site. The Academy helped to fast-track his Construction Skills Certification Scheme card so he could be inducted to work on-site.
Published:
6:37 AM February 5, 2021
Lovell health and safety advisor Holly Baker says her career in construction has given her the chance to contribute to the legacy of local communities
- Credit: Lovell / Holly Baker
Lovell health and safety advisor Holly Baker discusses how her passion for people was the perfect foundation for a fulfilling career in the construction sector.
You might not expect that a degree in psychology could be a prerequisite for a rewarding career in construction, but that is precisely how health and safety advisor Holly Baker set out on her professional trajectory.
“I want to help people,” Holly admits. “Construction gives me a chance to make a real difference to people’s lives.”
A decision on whether the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) will hold a vote this year on its levy collection will be made within weeks, the organisation has said.
The last scheduled poll on whether the industry backs its collection of the levy for the next three years was delayed last June for an unspecified period after the pandemic hit. It is meant to take place every three years to secure an industry levy order from government.
Levy collection was also suspended from March until September, and a 50 per cent rate cut has been proposed for the next financial year.